Do Value Orientations and Beliefs Play a Positive Role in Shaping Personal Norms for Urban Green Space Conservation?

Abstract

Urban Green Spaces (UGS) have a huge contribution to the health of urban ecosystems. However, they are threatened by numerous factors such as rapid urbanization, resource depletion, and climate change. These factors are inextricably linked to human behaviors, guided by the values and beliefs of people. According to value-belief-norm theory and norm activation model, personal norms are defined as self-expectations of pro-environmental behavior influenced by the ascription of responsibility and awareness of consequences in values and beliefs. When the conditions of responsibility and consequence awareness are met, individuals are more likely to experience a sense of moral obligation to exhibit environmentally responsible behavior. To address conservation and better enable UGS to have a positive function, we must explore how to promote the development of personal norms that are beneficial to UGS conservation. This study explored the influence that UGS values and beliefs have on personal norms. A questionnaire was administered to 1641 urban residents in Beijing, China, and Partial Least Square Structural Modeling was used to assess the causal relationship in the formation of personal norms on UGS conservation. The results showed that intrinsic, instrumental, and relational UGS value orientations contribute directly or indirectly to the formation of personal norms for the conservation of UGS through environmental beliefs as mediators, with the most significant effect being the relational value orientations. The results of the study can provide scientific guidance for future public participation in UGS conservation.